Colors // Joshler

// 31. If You Were Stuck On A Deserted Island //

Tyler and Josh spent their time together that evening studying on Tyler's laptop. After both boys felt that they'd studied enough, they took a break to just talk, about whatever they wanted.

As time went on, they moved around. They started out sitting together on the floor, then laying on the floor, then sitting on the very edge of Tyler's bed, then fully sitting on the bed, with their backs leaning against the wall. Throughout, Tyler kept getting that feeling, the one that he didn't completely understand. Little things gave it to him, whether it was the way Josh squinted slightly when he was thinking, or his laugh, or the way he never seemed to sit still.

One thing Tyler really liked about his and Josh's conversations was that they dealt with serious things, as well as ridiculous, impossible ones.

"If you were stuck on a deserted island, and you could only have one thing with you, what would it be?" Josh asked.

"A boat."

Josh laughed. It was warm, and meaningful laughter. Lots of people laughed without thinking something was actually funny. But whenever Josh laughed, Tyler could tell he meant it.

"Besides a boat, or any other form of transportation. Like, you're stuck there indefinitely, and you need something to get you through it."

Tyler closed his eyes for a second, thinking. He opened them. "My painting supplies."

Josh nodded his head slightly. "That's a good answer."

"What about you?"

The blue-haired boy squinted slightly, making the feeling flutter in Tyler's stomach. "Probably another human being. I'd go crazy if I was alone for that long."

Tyler just nodded. He wasn't normally one for other people, though Josh was starting to make him feel otherwise. He was changing his mantra, his motto, his manifesto. "Which human being?"

Josh squinted again, then stopped, and looked to Tyler. "Would it be weird if I picked you?"

The feeling was suddenly back, twisting Tyler's stomach in a strangely good way. "No, that's not weird."

Josh was looking directly at Tyler, directly into his face, making the smaller boy's cheeks heat up. Tyler felt abruptly shy, and as he looked away, he felt the feeling erupt inside his chest, finally just as strong and sure as the others. 

It was pink.